Sweden takes 19 percent of EU's asylum seekers

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Sweden took in almost 20 percent of the EU's asylum seekers in 2013, more than any other country in the union.

Despite Sweden's relatively small population of 9.5 million people, which is 1.9 percent of the European Union's total population, the country took in 19.5 percent of the 135,700 asylum seekers in 2013.

Of the asylum seekers in Sweden, 46 percent were from Syria. In fact, of the 35,800 Syrians granted protection status in the EU28, over 60 percent were recorded in Sweden and Germany at 12,000 and 9,600 respectively.

After Syrians, most of Sweden's asylum seekers in 2013 were stateless at a total of 4,110. The third biggest group was from Eritrea at 2,565.